Needs Assessment for and Implementation of Technical Assistance for Health Information Technology and Health Information Exchange in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) provides technical assistance (TA) to Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) agencies to assist them in their efforts to develop, implement, and participate in health information technology (IT) and health information exchange (HIE). This contract to RTI International (RTI) developed and implemented a 3-year TA program to help AHRQ provide this support. Medicaid and CHIP agencies have been increasing their involvement in both the planning and implementation of health IT systems. In pursuit of this work agencies experience a number of challenges which help inform the development of practical and useful TA offerings and tools. During the project, RTI used multiple sources of information to inform TA and tool development offerings, including a needs assessment, a multistate collaborative, and outputs from interaction among participants and federal agencies.

The main objectives of the project were to:

• Complete a nationwide assessment of Medicaid and CHIP health IT and HIE plans.
• Develop a 3-year TA plan based upon findings of nationwide assessment.
• Establish a menu of additional tools and strategies to support Medicaid and CHIP health IT and HIE development.

The resulting body of work represented a multifaceted approach, which is responsive to the emerging needs of participants. A section on AHRQ's National Resource Center for Health IT Web site was created specifically for this work. The project team developed and maintained a health IT repository on the Web site in order to support TA and disseminate best practices. The repository includes a literature search, bibliography, case studies, and highlight stories. The team also organized and conducted Webinars and held Web-based and in-person workshops. They supported a technical expert panel and developed a number of communities of practice. At intervals during the project, RTI tracked Medicaid and CHIP agencies' progress on health IT and HIE initiatives, as well as State-level health IT and HIE grant awards. They monitored projects and attended conferences and meetings in order to glean information on where TA might be needed. This approach allowed RTI to deliver ongoing TA to agency staff.